An Idiot’s Delight In Langley

SkyTrain is an obsolete proprietary light metro system, made obsolete by light rail! This has been known by all competent transit planners since the late 1980′s!

The proprietary SkyTrain system patents are owned by both Bombardier Inc. and SNC Lavalin. Again, well known by transit specialist around the world.

Today only 7 SkyTrain systems have been built, in the past 40 years and of these 7, only 3 are used seriously for urban transit. Not one new build SkyTrain has bee built in the past decade.

During the same period, over 200 new build LRT have been built and many more are under construction.

In revenue service, SkyTrain has proven to be not only more expensive to build, it is more expensive to operate and maintain. As well SkyTrain is extremely limited in capacity as Transport Canada’s Operating Certificate allows a maximum capacity of only 15,000 pphpd. To increase capacity, which is needed to extend SkyTrain to Langley, over $3 billion must be spent rehabbing the existing lines.

The latest rejection of SkyTrain came from Ottawa, where their politicians did due diligence and sent a fact finding committee to Vancouver to research SkyTrain.

Langley mayoral candidates Peter Fassbender and Val van den Broek, by wanting SkyTrain built to Langley, are going to increase taxes, to build with an obsolete light-metro that may be out of production by the time the planning is done.

Langley mayoral candidates Peter Fassbender and Val van den Broek are going to delay any sort of transit to Langley until the late 2030′s.

There are plenty of issues that Langley mayoral candidates Peter Fassbender and Val van den Broek don’t agree on, but they’re on the same page when it comes to the biggest transportation project in the city’s history.

Fassbender and van den Broek agree that when rapid transit is built from Surrey to Langley, it should not be light rail.

“I will take LRT if it comes down to it and that’s all TransLink is going to go for, but I am definitely pushing for SkyTrain,” van den Broek said.

“We’ll have to talk to whoever is elected in Surrey because that’s going to be a huge, huge item right off the bat.”

“Mayor Watts and then mayor Hepner both were passionate about at-grade rail and I don’t think it was based on reality but based on a vision that they had for the downtown core of Surrey,” Fassbender said.

“I didn’t agree with them now and I don’t agree with that direction now.”

So now that McCallum won (unfortunately) in Surrey, what now? Can he cancel LRT? If so, can Surrey be sued? If he is determined to get skytrain, it will be lucky to be built by 2014 if ever….Tax payers are maxed out……

Zwei System: I think McCallum will get a reality check and fast.

McCallum can’t cancel LRT because it is a Metro Vancouver/TransLink project, but he could throw expensive road blocks in front of it.

First of all, if he does, Surrey will be liable for tens of millions of dollars for litigation for broken contracts, the Surrey will lose transit funding, which means no real improvement in transit for at least two decades.

Now, with a big council change in Vancouver, the Broadway subway may also be in jeopardy, which means massive changes in our transit planning.

What we maybe seeing is the end of TransLink altogether, as Horgan now must have a critical bye election to fill Krog’s seat, who was elected Mayor of Nanaimo and with the large number of Greens on City Council, may have to rethink his current inept transit polices.

The good news is that Fassbender was not elected as Zwei deemed him most dangerous for improving local transit.

The first phase of LRT to Guildford and newtown is fine. It is the second phase to Langley that people of Surrey do not want.

The people have spoken. They vote for mayor that promises to extend the skytrain to Langley. The people of Surrey want Skytrain to Langley. Time to deliver.

Zwei replies: The federal money is not transferable period, no LRT no funding. Plus a $3 billion rehab of the Expo Line is needed before it can be extended, that will be $6 billion please. Do you have the funding? Certainly, I don’t.

As for the people voting for SkyTrain? Where was the referendum? Where was the honest debate?, Just semi senile former mayor wanting back on the gravy train.

It does follow the former interurban right of way through Vancouver, Burnaby and New Westminster. Skytrain is a type of LRT that use its own technology.

Zwei replies: Why should we continue to build with a dated light metro that has proven not only cost more to build, but more to operate and maintain, and with less capacity to boot. Only 7 built in the 40 years, SkyTrain is both dated and expensive. LRT brings with it the flexibility of operation an innovation. Building with SkyTrain is just livin in the past.

Brian, the concern with skytrain is the cost of construction per kilometre. Light metros (not with Skytrain Technology) have been build in other cities but Vancouver has likely used the technology beyond is reasonable. Automatic light metros are not per se a bad technology in my opinion as they provide a low marginal cost for frequent service. Staffed LRT systems appear to operate much less frequently than Skytrain or the Canada Line. I was shocked how infrequently the BART system ran in the Bay Area (staffing cost) However, for there to be effective service to all regional centres, a lower cost solution is needed and buses do not attract ridership as well as rail. If metro vancouver had gone with light rail, we could have region wide coverage. It is not as fast with on-street operation, but along a freeway or existing rail line LRT can punch above its weight.

Zwei replies: SkyTrain must operate at close frequencies because of the small cars, as they must do almost double the work to carry the same passenger loads as a tram. This means much higher maintenance costs and more wear and tear on the tracks, switches etc.

In Europe, many tram lines operate at 30 second heaway’s on portions of their routes during peak hours.

There was referendum in 2015, remember? The people rejected because they didn’t want the LRT. Translink doesn’t listen to what people want. The LRT thing is unpopular with the people of Surrey. No wants it. People like the Skytrain. The expo lline does not need $3 billion. $1 billion is enough.

Zwei replies: Excuse me, the 2015 referendum had nothing to do with LRT, rather it was about taxes for TransLink.

Most people in Surrey haven’t a clue what LRT is.

I was going to be rude, but no, you are a pathetic little boy who has not past reading picture books. You are utterly ignorant of transit issues, which you demonstrate ad nauseum here. Go to the Hive, it is good place to demonstrate your ignorance.

The Expo Line needs WAY MORE than a billion to begin upgrades. Nearly all the cabling needs replacement. All, I repeat ALL the turnouts (switches) on the mainline need replacement with the longer higher speed variety. The power system and most of communication/signaling system is warn out and out of date. The actual viaduct between the stations (20 km of it) and all it’s concrete is 32+ years old and aging rapidly. You need improved software and more trains plus a bigger budget if you want to move more passengers than you can handle now. Otherwise any extension simply runs it’s passengers on to a line that is full during the peak period.